Opposing M Ilitary Recruitm Ent * Lg Btq
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THE OCIALIST S M agazine of the Socialist Party USA M ay-June 2005 Volum e 31, Num ber 2 $1.00 INSIDE: TACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY * VERM ONT SAYS BRING OUR TROOPS HOM E!* OPPOSING M ILITARY RECRUITM ENT * LG BTQ ACTIVISM * LOCAL REPORTS * POETRY * AND M ORE! THE T HE SOCIALIST Editorial Staff SOCIALIST Editor/Layout M ay-June 2005 Volum e 31, Num ber 2 G reg Pason Editorial Board M ark Alper M AY DAY 2005 M ichael Baker The M ay Day issue of The Socialist was produced by the National M ary Loritz Secretary and National Office Volunteers. Jam es M arra Tina Phillips Steve Rossignol TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 TACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY Contact the SP USA Socialist Party USA By Steve Sears 339 Lafayette St. # 303 4 OPPOSING M ILITARY RECRUITM ENT W HEREVER IT IS New York, NY 10012 By Tom Keenan Phone/Fax: (212) 982-4586 5 FROM SDS TO NCOR: SOCIALISM , ANARCHISM AND NatSec@ sp-usa.org www.sp-usa.org BERNARDINE DOHRN By Tom Good Subm issions 7 IW W CENTENNIAL: 1905 – 2005 Send all correspondence to: The Socialist By Harry Siitonen c/o 339 Lafayette St. # 303 8 W HY A SOCIALIST PARTY Q UEER COM M ISSION? New York, NY 10012 By Steven Donahue 9 ARTS & CULTURE A rticles m ay be subm itted in p rint or on IBM -com patible By the SP USA Arts & Culture Commission disk, or by e-m ail to 10 VERM ONT SAYS BRING OUR TROOPS HOM E! na tsec@ sp-usa.org. The views By Mary Alice Herbert expressed herein are those of he authors and do not 13 FAITH & SOCIALISM ne cessarily reflect those of the By Antonio Salas Ed itorial Board of The Socialist 14 NEW S FROM SP USA LOCALS or the Socialist Party USA. 15 SOCIALIST PARTY USA DIRECTORY Subscription Rates 1 year individual $10 1 year institution $25 From the Socialist Party USA Statem ent of Principles Cover Art: Photo of striking The Socialist Party strives to establish a radical democracy that places C .I.W . worker by Steve Sears people’s lives under their own control; where working people own and control the means of production through democratically elected bodies; where full employment is realized for everyone who wants to work; where workers have the right to form unions freely, and to strike and engage in other forms of job actions; and where the production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. We believe socialism and democracy are one and indivisible. 2 and receive no overtime. If they refuse to work late, they TACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY! will find no work in the future. They have no right to organize, no benefits, no pension and no sick leave. There use to be beatings in the field, but that ended By Steve Sears after 600 CIW members marched to a crew leader’s house after he beat a worker for drinking water. When On April 1st 2001, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers they informed the community that if you beat one of us, (CIW) announced a boycott of Taco Bell after almost a you beat all of us, crew leaders listened and there has ye ar of requesting their assistance in improving wages not been a single incident since. Greg Asbed, lead an d working conditions in the Tomato fields of South organizer for the CIW told me they still have that Florida. As we stood around that Orlando Taco Bell after worker’s bloody shirt so all workers will remember. the announcement, we all knew we would see victory, The Taco Bell boycott has gained tremendous student, bu t no one could guess when. The when turned out to religious, labor, and community support in the years be almost four years later in Louisville, Kentucky on since its inception, including the establishment of March 8, 2005. Lucas Benitez, co-founder of the CIW, boycott committees in nearly all 50 states and a fast- announced the end of the boycott at a press conference growing movement to "Boot the Bell" from college and at YUM! Brands headquarters. YUM! Brands is the high school campuses across the country. By the end of lar gest restaurant corporation in the world and the the boycott, 22 campuses had “Booted the Bell” costing parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, A&W, and untold amounts of money and negative publicity for Long John Silvers. After four years of education and Taco Bell. In 2003 one of the largest hunger strikes in actions around the country, Taco Bell had finally agreed labor history took place at the Taco Bell HQ in Irvine, th at they are responsible for the conditions and the pay CA. Seventy-Five farmworkers and students fasted for in the fields of South Florida. 10 days, galvanizing support from around the country. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a community- During this whole time, the CIW asked Taco Bell based worker organization. Its members are largely Executive’s one question “Can Taco Bell guarantees its La tino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working customers that the tomatoes in its tacos were not picked in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. The by forced labor?” The answer was silence. The 2004 CIW was formed in 1993 to work on improving the Truth Tour visited both YUM! Brands HQ in Louisville, community and the lives of farmworkers. In just a few KY and Taco Bell HQ in Irvine, CA and featured marches sh ort years, the CIW was able to organize three general and actions across the country. str ikes and a 30 day hunger strike by six workers. Th ese actions brought about an end to the declining wages and brought industry-wide raises of 13-25%. But this only resulted in bringing wages back to pre-1980 wa ges and a yearly average of only $7500, well below th e poverty line. While continuing to organize for fairer wages, they also turned their attention to attacking involuntary se rvitude in Florida. From 1998 to the present, the CIW ha s helped free over 1200 workers from five slavery rin gs operating in the fields of South Florida. The latest case came in November of 2002 when three crew leaders fro m Lake Placid, Florida were convicted of forcing 700 wo rkers into slave labor in Florida's citrus groves. They we re sentenced in May, 2004, to a total of 31 years and nine months in federal prison, and were ordered to for feit $3 million in proceeds from their immigrant sm uggling operation. In 2003, three members of the CI W became the first U.S. based human rights defenders to be awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human photo by Steve Sears Rights Award. F armworkers in Immokalee earn about $.40 -.45 per The CIW organizing model is simple: educate and 32 -35 LB bucket of tomatoes picked. This means that activate. They spend most of their time talking to college they must pick and haul two tons (125 buckets) just to students and church members about the conditions earn $50. Many days, workers walk home with much they live in daily. They have formed alliances with major less. Arising at 4am, they gather downtown where the religious organizations such as the National Council of bu ses will pick them up. They arrive not knowing if they Churches, the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian wi ll be able to find work or not. If luck is with them, Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Chirst, Pax Chirsti they will board a bus or truck and spend sometimes up USA and others. They are endorsed by Labor Unions, to 2 or more hours driving to the fields. They are not Student and Global Justice groups as well as pa id for the drive. Once they arrive, they may have to individuals such as Noam Chomsky, Kerry Kennedy, wa it for the dew to dry or even loose the entire day if the Tom Morello, Eric Schlosser, and many others. we ather goes bad. They work as long as they are told Continued on page 4 3 OPPOSING M ILITARY RECRUITM ENT, W HEREVER IT IS By Tom Kennan The increased intensity by recruiters and other Ed . Note: Tom Keenan is a student at William Paterson representatives of the state to silence and neutralize us Un iversity (WPU) in Wayne New Jersey, who was recently is a sign that what we’re doing is working, and what they’re doing is rapidly falling apart. They cannot wage a arr ested for “trespassing” for leafleting against military recruiters at his school. Tom’s case came two days after the war without support abroad AND without support at So cialist Party of New Jersey and North Jersey Anti-Racist home. These are drastic times, and increased measures Ac tion helped organize an anti-recruitment teach-in at the must be taken to show the dissenting public’s school. Tom’s case spun into a student movement at WPU commitment to ending American Imperialism and built solidarity among students and community activists in the Paterson/Wayne area. Tom Keenan is a member of North Jersey Anti-Racist Th e military ceases to effectively present itself as a tool Action. www.anti-racist.org of defending people, and keeping peace. Instead it ou tright parades itself as a delivery system for American Businesses into foreign economies.